The Whytehold Guardians
"And out they rode, all eight of them, to face the great peril. There was calm Sir Conrad, resplendent Lady Reinhilde, bullish Sir Bertram, irascible Sir Isidor, virtuous Sir Vladovid, lion-hearted Sir Lancel, and undaunted Sir Ulrich, by the king's side as always. And at their head, of course, the King himself; shining, saintly, yet solemn, Solas Sorrowsong" - excerpt from Winfried Erzähler's poem; ''The White King's Hunt, The Whytehold Guardians were a traditional order of knights within the Kingdom of Whytehold. They were founded by the White King himself, and the original seven members are legendary figures within Whyteholder myths and traditions. The Guardians took in squires, and taught them everything they knew. Only when knighted by a Guardian, and pledging themselves to this duty did a knight truly become a Whytehold Guardian. Over many years, the number of true Guardians thinned, as many were killed, didn't take squires, or gave up their duty. The last ever true Whytehold Guardian was General Talon Austermark, Leader of the city-state before the Two Revolutions, where he was killed by Nikovid Von Karstein. History Origin The Guardians were formed in 7.26 by the White King. According to legend, he scoured the lands for months looking for all the greatest knights. There are individual stories for how he encountered each knight, usually after they proved themselves worthy to him. The founding members were: Sir Ulrich Kaldermann (The King's Knight), Sir Lancel Weisenburg (Knight of Gallantry), Sir Vladovid Geltrich (Knight of Truth), Sir Isidor Reinvich (The Fire Bird), Sir Bertram Kaddenstein (The Stone Shield), Lady Reinhilde Valimarr (The Sky Spear), and Sir Conrad Eisenwulf (The Ice Wolf). The White King revealed to these knights that he did not expect to rule Whytehold forever, and wished for the knights to rule the kingdom after he either abdicated or died. However, they did not all survive to see the White King eventually abdicate, and most fell prior to this due to foolishness, infighting, or foes who were simply too powerful. For many years, the Guardians went on many quests and adventures, if the legends are to be believed. The most reliable source of tales are the writings of Winfried Erzähler, a bard and storyteller who lived at the time, though he had a tendency to exaggerate. The White King's Hunt A Misadventure of Ice and Fire The Whytehold Guardians usually traveled in pairs or threes, and only fought together when facing the greatest threats. Erzähler's ''"A Misadventure of Ice and Fire" describes how an unlikely series of events lead to Sir Isidor and Sir Conrad going on a quest together, and this event marks a turning point in the lives of the Guardians. The Misadventure occured many years after the founding of the Whytehold Guardians, though the exact year is unknown. Sir Conrad Eisenwulf, the Ice Wolf, and Sir Isidor Reinvich, the Fire Bird, set forth together in a quest to hunt down and slay a beast. However, these two knights were well known for being opposed on almost every matter. Short-tempered Sir Isidor, and cautious Sir Conrad bickered constantly on their journey, both believing their way to be the best. Along their travels, the two knights lost their horses, Sir Conrad lost his blade Winterfang, and the knights only survived thanks to a fortuitous meeting with a travelling Wayfarer healer named Tara. Eventually the knights reached the lair of the beast, a deep cave too dark to see into. Sir Isidor caused his sword, Zündenfalke, to burst into flames, giving them light, then urged Conrad to follow him in charging into the cave. The Ice Wolf disagreed, saying they should stay and plan first, but Isidor was eager for battle. Their arguing, and the light of Zündenfalke caused the beast to stir, and while the knights were distracted, they were ambushed by the beast, a gigantic serpentine creature, twice as large as a basilisk. Conrad was immediately bitten by the creature, and a deadly poison seeped into his veins. An intense battle followed, ice and fire whipping around the serpent, as the knights finally learned how to fight together and made a deadly duo. After slaying the beast, The Fire Bird embraced his fellow knight and was glad they'd finally learned teamwork. However, Conrad revealed that the poison still seeped through his veins, and that he was going to die. Isidor was distraught, but the Ice Wolf calmed him and accepted his death. As snow began to fall around the knights, Conrad stated that he'd rather die on his own terms than by the poison of a beast. He knelt to the ground, and transformed into a statue of ice. To this day, the ice sculpture of Sir Conrad still stands in front of that cave, next to the bones of an ancient serpent. A sombre Isidor made his slow way back to Whytehold, weeping at the death of a friend, and certain that it was his own fault. He encountered Tara the healer again, and found comfort in her arms. Isidor brought Tara back to Whytehold and married her. Their child would come to be named Conrad. Squires and Families of the Guardians After the death of Sir Conrad, the guardians began to realise their own mortality. They began taking squires, to teach them the ways of the Whytehold Guardian. Sir Ulrich was the first to take a squire, young Matthias Austermark. Additionally, following Sir Isidor's example, many of the knights found wives and had children, to make sure their legacy and names were carried on through the generations. Sir Ulrich Kaldermann was the only knight who never married, as he was too devoted to his king. The Stone Shield's Last Stand In legends from this time period, there existed a town in the Sunrise mountains called Stelenburg. Stelenburg held a powerful outpost of the Abbey of Metallurgy, with a large town surrounding it. The Metallurgists had uncovered a powerful ore, which they referred to as "White Iron", and used it to create many incredible weapons and armour. They gifted weapons and trinkets crafted from this metal to the people of Stelenburg prolifically, and all prospered. However, this metal had belonged to creatures within the mountains, elementals. Particularly, an elemental lord known as Mydaros. When the foundry went silent, the people of Stelenburg called for aid, and Sir Bertram Kaddenstein answered the call. Arriving in Stelenburg, he heard from the citizens that there had been terrible screams coming from the metallurgist's foundry one night, and absolute silence since then. The door was barred shut, but Bertram was able to knock it down with his immense strength. Upon entering the foundry, he discovered many dead metallurgists, and several creatures lurking in the shadows, stone elementals, partially constructed from the armour and weapons made from White Iron, as they reclaimed their property. Standing at the centre was a huge creature, seemingly entirely constructed from ornate armour, glimmering jewels, gold, silver, and master-crafted weaponry. This creature, Mydaros, was a greedy, territorial and vain creature. When it saw Sir Bertram's legendary shield, the Bulwark, it immediately desired the artifact. Mydaros and Sir Betram fought, the huge might of the elemental versus the Stone Shield's legendary bravery and hardiness. They eventually moved to the large archway of the foundry, where they fought in front of the town of Stelenburg, who had gathered to watch this mighty duel. However, the duel came to an early end when Mydaros spotted a sword one of the townsmen was wearing. Gazing around the crowd, he noticed many citizens wearing weapons or pendants made from White Iron. With a furious roar, Mydaros charged into the crowd, and his elemental army followed. But Sir Bertram was not one to stand by and let innocents die, and so bravely stood in front of the elementals, his shield held up before him. He decided at that time that even he and the town of Stelenburg could not fight against this mighty foe alone. In a tactical decision, he told the people to flee and come back with all the Whytehold Knights to retake the town. Sir Bertram, and five Stelenburg knights, stood alone against the tide of elementals while the town was evacuated. As the last citizen fled, they witnessed the knights falling one by one, and Sir Bertram holding back Mydaros, who desperately wanted to slay all those who had stolen his ore. The people of Stelenburg slowly walked down the mountains back to Whytehold. On their journey, they discarded their cursed trinkets and weapons, which had brought nothing but misfortune. They returned to Whytehold and told the White King of the events at Stelenburg, But the knights never gathered up to re-take the town, as other things interrupted this endeavour.